Author: schang504

Appearance in Korean culture is important, especially in media. While some think of it as shocking, most of people consider it to be no big deal. In fact, the concept of getting plastic surgery in Korea has become generalized, and is now exposed to even young generations.

In the past, getting plastic surgery or revealing the fact that one got plastic surgery done used to be uncommon in South Korea because it applied to such a small number of people. These people, such as actors, actresses, announcers, and other famous professionals, constantly appear in the media. However, currently, “South Korea has the highest ratio of cosmetic surgeons to citizens worldwide” and one out of every five women in Seoul, South Korea has undergone plastic surgery. This trend is also becoming popular in the male population, and many men have gone under the knife. The addition of the male population to the trend goes to show how common plastic surgery has become in South Korea. In the past, the most popular operations were eyelid surgery, which is designed to make the eyes appear larger.

Nowadays, eye jobs are considered as ‘routine’. The public does not even consider this procedure to be surgery. Neither nose jobs nor the paring down of cheekbones are popular procedures for South Koreans, but “double-jaw surgery” has drastically increased in its popularity recently. So how has the idea and practice of plastic surgery become so generalized by the South Korean population? I would say by the incredible and drastic rise of K-Pop’s world and media influence. At first, most people had negative comment on k-pop idols getting plastic surgery. However, as the time goes by; more idols are debuted that already had plastic surgery. This has made the concept of getting plastic surgery a general practice, deemphasizing the seriousness of the surgeries. It is true that most of K-pop stars “are recognized not only for their music, but also for their physical appearance,” and “most K-pop idols are features like double eyelids and high-bridged noses, facial features that many East Asians aren’t necessarily born with.”

Brown Eyed Girls in 2006

Brown Eyed Girls Present

The image above showcases “before and after” pictures of members of the popular music group, Brown Eyed Girls. Surprisingly, regardless of the fact that we are not professional plastic surgery doctors, it is easy to recognize the difference of their faces between the past and the present. It is a general principle that “to succeed in the pop industry, you must be beautiful, in other words you must have those aforementioned features that define beauty.” Today, Brown eyed Girls are K-pop super stars. However, Brown Eyed Girls were not as popular as there are now when they first entered the music scene in 2006. Originally, they were called “faceless singer” unknown by the public because of their plain looks. Their songs were powerful and well known, but not many people knew or liked how they looked. However, after their transformation, they were fully acknowledged as a powerful and beautiful singing group. Therefore, the group used plastic surgery as a way to achieve their goals of success and fame. Using their surgically provided make-overs as a way for the girls of Brown Eyed Girls to achieve their goals is another way in which the practice of plastic surgery has become generalized

Past pictures of Girls’ Generation members

Girls’ Generation present

In addition, one of the top three most famous and popular idols in Asia, Girls’ Generation (Images above), was the main motive and influence of plastic surgery industry in South Korea. Each member has dealt with multiple rumors of whether she is naturally beautiful or went under the knife. As a result of the rumors, people started to post ‘before and after’ pictures, thoroughly comparing them and making assumptions on which members have gotten plastic surgery or not.

7. Sooyoung – eyelids and I think TWO nosejobs. Her first implant and narrowing (?) wasn’t too great.

8. Tiffany – Eyelids, nosejob and whitening. She smiles too much in variety shows, so I suspect SM has driven her insane.

9. Sohyeon – No obvious changes, but listening to her talk on variety shows, she has definitely gone insane thanks to SM.

Interestingly, as the time goes on, people tend to question “where” those idols got plastic surgery rather than criticizing “which idols” got plastic surgery. Since most of k-pop groups and actors look “perfect” with double eyelids and high-bridged noses, and soft facial features, people started to compare their own faces to those idols. When one is constantly surrounded by this culture through the media, it is hard not to become a part of it. In fact, they wanted to look similar to the way that they look. Now everyone looks the same with the combination of big eyes and high-bridged noses. Do people care if they look the same? No. They wanted to look prettier than their natural selves and beautiful just like K-pop groups and actors portrayed in the Media. The image below has headshots from all the women from the Miss Korea contest in 2013. This is a great example of people do not care about looking alike. Can anyone tell which one has “neither big eyes nor high-bridged nose”? Probably not.

Korean Miss Contest in 2013

Generalizing the concept of having plastic surgery also influences the actual TV programs in South Korea. In the past, K-pop performers and actors’ truths of getting surgery were secretive and hidden. However, since most of the audience can possibly find those actors’ “before and after” image via the media, they are no longer hiding the truth, and are instead admitting to what they have done. One of the k-pop idol, Kwang Hee from group ZE:A confessed in MBC’s “Golden Fishery-Radio Star,” stating that “I had plastic surgery done on my forehead. The pain was unbearable” He even joked about it when one of the comedians revealed his plastic surgery truth. He responded “I haven’t done many surgeries! Ahh… I guess I did a lot. I even threw away all of my child-hood pictures before I did my plastic surgeries.”

Kwang Hee’s capture image from TV show

Kwang Hee has also mentioned about this extensive plastic surgery experience via another TV program, KBS 2TV’S “1 vs. 100” on April 3. He said “Basically, everything you can see on my face has been retouched. I had my nose done, work done on my forehead, and oh, my eyes, too.” He even joked by saying “I thought that my eyes needed to be subtle in relations to other features. Wouldn’t have been too much if my eyes looked super enhance? I’m a man who knows moderation.”

Solbi’s past and present

There is another singer, Solbi, openly talked about going under the knife on the latest episode of SBS’s ‘Strong Heart’ on the July 17th 2012.

During the program, one of the guest-feature, Kyuhyun slightly teased Solbi by remarking, “She is becoming more and more beautiful. I am impressed with her ever-evolving beauty” And then MC Shin Dong Yup also tease her by saying “We have to give her an award for her ability to save money. She saves, and saves and thus, is able to invest in more surgeries.” Solbi showed her good nature and her comedic side as she refuted “ It didn’t take that much money.” Shin Dong Yup further asked, “Don’t you still feel great when people mention that you’ve gotten prettier?”, to which Solbi replied, “That’s why I got it done!” causing the set to roar in laughter over her frank and honest confession.

Following those two confession, Kara’s Goo Hara and Afterschool’s Uee confessed their double eyelid surgery in different TV programs. More k-pop idols and actors began to reveal the truth and it is no longer hidden issues but rather part of joke in the media.

A teenager is having a plastic surgery talk

The rise of K-pop and generalized ideas on cosmetic surgery from the population as a whole has also have encouraged teenagers from South Korea to go under the knife. Today, more and more Korean teenagers decide to get plastic surgery in pursuit of beauty. Due to easy access to mass media, the concept of plastic surgery is exposed easily. The plastic surgery population is mainly dominated by women in their twenties; however, teenagers have recently been over coming twenty year old females. According to an e-Seoul survey, “41.4 percent of teens interviewed said they were “willing to have plastic surgery for beauty.” This trend is also reaching to young girls. According to JoongAng Daily “Even middle school students, female students mostly, are choosing to get their face surgically altered.”

The most popular surgery among young students is double eyelid surgery. This is due to its low risk and high reward. In case of operations that involve certain bones, such as for nose jobs, it “is not advisable until the student has fully grown because there could be dangerous side effects”. Furthermore, “If plastic surgery is performed on young bones it can trigger problems in the future and may require more surgery.”

According to a famous cosmetic surgeon from Grand Plastic Surgery, Dr Rhee, in the last five years, he has seen an increasing number of young people getting surgery. “Ninety percent of the clinic’s clientele are under the age of 30 and of them, half are under 18.” He also points out that it is mostly by K-pop influence. Dr. Rhee says “K-pop stars and Korean celebrities have influenced the younger generation [to get plastic surgery]. For example, if you look at the before and after photos of K-pop stars you’ll see they have gotten prettier. When people see this change, they want to be pretty as well, they want to look as good as them.”

Dr. Rhee also says that most of the young people come for double eyelid surgery; “where a second eyelid is created to make the eyes look bigger.” Generally, the number of student patients peaks during school vacation season in December and January. “During school holidays, half the class would come in and get surgery done and when they go back to school, their friends would see that they’ve become prettier so in the next break you would have the other half of the class coming in.” Another manager of cosmetic surgery clinic in Apgujeong-dong in Seoul also says that “The overall client age group has decrease. Among teenagers, high school students were the main clients, but these days, an increasing number of middle school students aged 15 to 16 have been visiting the clinic.”

Surprisingly, some parents have a powerful influence on whether their children get plastic surgery. “A female high school student, Lee, got her double-eyelid surgery done and said “My small eyes were the cause of low self-esteem.” “My mom and I made a deal that if I did well on my midterm exams, she would let me have plastic surgery.” In addition, a survey of 250 mothers in Korea by Dove showed that “one if four moms suggested their teenage child get plastic surgery.” When the older generation of Koreans is generalizing the trend in plastic surgery, it has a direct effect on the younger generation. Therefore, the popularity of plastic surgery has increased.

Looking perfect as one of the k-pop idols is impossible. However, Korean women’s efforts to be “looking like them (k-pop idols and actors)” is possible through plastic surgery. Since the idea of getting plastic surgery has become generalized, most of Korean women try to get plastic surgery to be looking “pretty” and it is considered to be no big deal.

Although King of Ambition has an audience rating of twenty-seven percent, the nihility ending plot left much to be desired. A recording of an important conversation proves the misdeed of the past and is displayed instead of planning a complicated plot to reveal the truth and far-fetched conclusion.

The plot of the 24 episodes of the drama mainly portrays both characters’ conspiracies of revenge and their intense inner conflict and lingering attachment between these two characters based on their past relationship. The main character is Joo Da-hae, an ambitious woman, born into poverty. Besides her, Ha Ryu, who falls in love with Da-hae in an orphanage. He always does whatever is best for Da-hae; he even takes Da-hae’s murder charge, and he works day and night to earn money for her. However, as time goes on, Da-hae changes, cheats on him, loses their daughter, Eun-byul, and tries to be a wife of a Chaebol. After taking all of this abuse from her, Ha Ryu’s plans revenge on Da-hae by becoming a CEO of a Chaebol group. Without a doubt, Da-Hae forms a conspiracy against anyone who hinders her plans, killing people or causing them severe trouble.

Even though the plot of King of Ambition is full of fictitious, over dramatic conspiracy, it still attracts an audience because the conspiracy plot that both characters plan is sophisticated and intense. In example, Da-hae set a bomb in the car to kill Ha Ryu, but instead, it kills her husband Do-hoon. Furthermore, she is still able to hide her crime in episode 17. However, compared to the previous episodes, the last few episodes of this drama seem rushed and riffle. Ha Ryu uses his cellular phone to record the conversation between him and Da-hae in order to reveal two of her murder stories to the public. This plot is cliché and the fact that the series portrays this as a successful revenge tactic is actually pathetic. He spent a significant amount of time planning his retaliation, for instance tempting a daughter of Chaebol to use her authority and plan for other crimes. Why has he not used this simple method to get revenge on Da-hae before?

Furthermore, besides Ha Ryu’s pathetic final revenge, the last episode focus on regaining Da-hae’s innocent and sweet girl image by bringing up her childhood. Why? She has been vicious and evil this entire drama but now, at the end, the writers randomly strive to show Da-hae’s “original nature was a sweet girl” characteristic. Their efforts in order to make the audience have sympathy through overlapping her grown up evil characteristic with her innocent childhood seems too late to pull out at the end. For a clear conclusion for this drama, remaining Da-hae’s character as vicious and evil is better than trying to force the audience to get sympathy. Da-hae character has always been portrayed as ambitious and evil, changing it at the end was a mistake.

If the ending of King of Ambition had concluded with a sophisticated planned final revenge and did not include far-fetched and random recollection, then the audience would have evaluated this series as a high quality drama that better matched the audience rating.

Even though the story of 200 pounds beauty successfully attracts the audience with comedy and a great soundtrack, through the portrayal of the character Han-na’s decisions and achievements, the message of this movie, 200 Pounds Beauty, perfect beauty is the key to happiness, is a shallow theme.

Kang Han-na is a nice woman who has an incredible voice, however; the fact that she weighs 200 pounds hinders her dreams of being a famous singer. Due to her appearance, Han-na provides her vocals for a pop star Amy who is attractive and skinny but cannot sing, and stays behind the scenes. After facing humiliation by her co-workers because of her weight at the company party, she decides to have plastic surgery. It takes a year of recovery, but she eventually becomes the beautiful women that she has been dreamt about and starts a new life as “Jenny”. However, she hides her real name and her past to become a singer and auditions from the same studio that she worked at when she provided her vocals in the past. She becomes a famous singer but she decides to reveal who she was in the past.

Living a new life that she has dreamt of, and finally accrediting as a beautiful talented woman may have touched the audience with funny jokes and light-heartedness. However, the question remains; is she being respected by the audience based on her talent or appearance? After her plastic surgery, she is treated as a princess from every guy. She is above the law, getting away with hitting a car because of her looks. Personally, I’m curious as to what the goal of the filmmaker was; are they trying to prove that getting plastic surgery is the way of improving one’s life? Or are they trying to tell the audience to love yourself just the way you are? What I see is that her life might have been successfully revived as a beautiful talented woman, yet she still seems confused of her identity and not completely confident in her sense of self after the surgery.

This movie also successfully addresses Korea’s beauty-infatuated society. Every Korean girl wishes to have big eyes and a perfectly slim body. However what I am concerned about is the reaction of the audience to the message. The audience members who watched this movie and decided to get cosmetic surgery might have chosen to under an illusion that they will become just as perfectly as Han-nah turned out. In addition, the dangerous part of getting plastic surgery or any side effects of these types of procedures were not viewed in the film.

Though, the audience thinks that this movie is funny and has a succesful plot, the theme behind this movie seems too shallow.

South Korean rapper PSY exploded onto the American music scene in 2012 with his boyish smile and outlandish style, quickly earning him a place in American’s hearts from Hollywood heights to party house basements.

Due to such rampant popularity, the picture above may seem somewhat familiar to all except the most incurable shut-ins. It features a make-up wearing PSY dressed in a red leotard, bedecked with sparkles, and complete with artistically placed rips. As far as fashion goes, it definitely meets the rappers unconventional image. Yet, this is not the bespectacled, suit wearing, “horse dance” gallivanting, chubby Asian pop-star who has become a much beloved staple of American culture. Not the PSY whose “Gangnam Style” video recently reached over 2 billion views on YouTube, and certainly not the PSY who performed for the President of the United States at the 2012 Whitehouse Christmas Concert. No this is another face of PSY, anti-American protest rapper whose lyrics included lines urging that American daughters, mothers, daughter-in-law and fathers be killed.

When confronted with this version of PSY, the most noticeable change is in his expression. The boyish grin is gone; the flashy shades removed, and in their place burning eyes glare out through a pale complexion, as the rapper points out to the crowd gathered at an Anti-American rally in 2006. The rally came in reaction to the recent death of two South Korean school-girls who were killed in an accident involving a U.S. military vehicle. The next thing which must be considered is the color of PSY’s outfit: Red. As his lyrics made abundantly clear, the rapper, PSY, was calling not for justice, but for revenge: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The violent nature of his songs was exemplified by an act of smashing a model U.S. Tank on stage during his performance. Finally, this picture stands apart aside from the fashion because it is devoid of the sheer, unworldly ridiculousness which the current PSY all but wallows in.

Despite his Anti-American past, PSY still has overwhelming popularity in the United States. South Koreans, also admire him for doing what no other Korean artist has done, break into the American music scene. Furthermore, PSY has put South Korea on the map in a way that even the Korean War never did. Electronic powerhouse Samsung went as far as to ally itself with the rapper and tailor its new product line around specifically around him. All these go to show that without a doubt he is a fantastic showman but it still begs to question which PSY behind the shades is the real one. Hopefully not the one pictured above, for that one is certainly no cause for relief.